Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate • Hacker News Board

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#381

Post by justinhj » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

woodruffw wrote: post #337

lilsoso wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not according to Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz [1], Chamath Palihapitiya & David Sacks [2], possibly Zuckerberg [3], and others. And of course Elon, Thiel. Many such cases. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_sNclEgQZQ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blqIZGXWUpU [3] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XgWFwVRGcf4

These videos would fit very nicely into an undergraduate course segment on motivated reasoning. As viewers, it's incumbent upon us to determine whether the Musks and the Thiels of the world have our best interests in mind and, if not, whether their support for any particular candidate might reflect that.

As Trump said in his recent speech in Michigan "We have to make life good for our smart people." These are executives and investors who have created trillions in value with their technology based products and services. Their interests align with mine.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#382

Post by dotancohen » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

gumby wrote: post #32

One of the most effective presidents since Johnson or Truman. But he did campaign on a single term. Let’s hope the Dem’s circular firing squad puts down its guns so they can quickly concentrate on winning the election with someone … probably Harris is the simplest answer.

  > One of the most effective presidents since Johnson or Truman.

In what way? I don't live in the US, so what did I miss? I don't remember Biden doing anything of note (good or bad).

> But he did campaign on a single term.

Biden said that he was running for only a single term, and during this entire second election campaign nobody called him out on that, not even outspoken Trump?

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#383

Post by LetsGoApp » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

flappyeagle wrote: post #298

LetsGoApp wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it would be beneficial for Biden to step down, as this would make Kamala Harris the presumptive nominee and simultaneously break the glass ceiling of a female US President. This would also demonstrate her presidential capabilities to the general public, who may not fully comprehend the responsibilities of the office. Furthermore, if Congress were unable to confirm a VP, it would reflect poorly on them and domina…

Nah. Let her earn it

Harris already earned it by being elected, so it's not about letting her earn it. The choice is Biden's alone to make, and it's obvious that it would politically amplify his endorsement and significantly reduce the likelihood of further drama within the Democratic Party so close to the election. Moreover, it would likely mitigate any legal challenges related to Biden's transition to Harris.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#384

Post by colechristensen » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

jiveturkey wrote: post #360

selfmodruntime wrote: post #3

My god. I really didn‘t think he would actually do it.

I assumed getting COVID was fake and would be his ~reason~ excuse.

Or perhaps he became seriously ill and this helped convince him

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#385

Post by tonymet » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:09 PM UTC

Be skeptical. Why are announcements being delivered from the social media staff via twitter ? Where is the President ?

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#386

Post by ajross » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:10 PM UTC

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #224

gumby wrote: post #32

One of the most effective presidents since Johnson or Truman. But he did campaign on a single term. Let’s hope the Dem’s circular firing squad puts down its guns so they can quickly concentrate on winning the election with someone … probably Harris is the simplest answer.

> Let’s hope the Dem’s circular firing squad puts down its guns so they can quickly concentrate on winning the election with someone … probably Harris is the simplest answer. On the contrary, the processes that anointed Hillary in 2016 and Biden round 2 in 2024 were exactly the kind of "well, it's this person's turn now" decisions that were bad, anti-democratic (lower-case d) choices previously. I'm not looking for a…

> the processes that anointed [...] Biden round 2 in 2024

You think it's notably corrupt that... an incumbent president gets to run for re-election? You might argue this was a bad idea. You could argue it's counter to the way the campaign was presented in 2020. But it's hardly surprising; it's literally the way we've done things for hundreds of years!

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#387

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:10 PM UTC

tombert wrote: post #278

selfmodruntime wrote: post #3

My god. I really didn‘t think he would actually do it.

There was never any risk of me voting for Trump, but when I watched the debate it became abundantly clear that Biden could not win an election. He came off as an extremely frail old man and I had my doubts that he would survive the entire debate , let alone another four years in office. I'm a pretty left-leaning person and I find Trump to be an overwhelmingly unappealing idiot in general, but even I had to admit that…

[deleted]

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#388

Post by ethagnawl » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:11 PM UTC

throw0101d wrote: post #321

readthenotes1 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day...

> The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. "When Biden stumbles over words, we question his state of mind; when Trump acts like a deranged street preacher, it’s … well, Tuesday. If Biden had suggested setting up migrants in a fight club,[1] he’d be out of the race already; Trump does it, and the country (as well as many in the media) shrugs. " * Tom Nichols, https://archive.ph/X…

Fucking Hell. I need to stop thinking these things are exaggerations or hyperbole. In the past few days, I thought "MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW" and (now) "immigrant fight club" were the stuff of political cartoonists juicing the zeitgeist.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#389

Post by temporarely » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:11 PM UTC

HarHarVeryFunny wrote: post #318

Not going to happen, but I wonder how a mixed party ticket would do. Kamala (or whoever) + Mitt Romney as VP ? Has it ever been done? Would it work to attract the center/swing vote, or more likely to be a negative?

I have a "radical" idea: why not actually let the constituency of this party make the choice.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#390

Post by xhevahir » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 10:11 PM UTC

rzz3 wrote: post #372

woodruffw wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not going to happen, but I wonder how a mixed party ticket would do. Kamala (or whoever) + Mitt Romney as VP ? I think it would be very hard to convince the liberal-progressive base (i.e. the core of the party) of the DNC to go for this. > Has it ever been done? Before the 12th Amendment was passed, the VP came from the opposing party[1]. This didn't work particularly well in practice, which is why nobody remembers…

But there’s no one else to vote for, they’d still vote for her with Romney as the VP. With that vs Trump as the other option, she’d still get the votes from the progressive base and potentially bring over a few more independent voters.

There's always the option, taken by millions of Americans every election, of not voting for anyone.

A unity ticket of two unpopular centrist candidates is not a recipe for success.